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METALLICA: Official Footage From Third Mexico City Concert

Official Metallica.com footage of METALLICA‘s pre-show tuning-room jam and “Cyanide”performance on August 1 at the third concert of the band’s eight-date run at Palacio de los Deportes (Sports Palace) in Mexico City can be seen below.

Two members of METALLICA‘s road crew caught fire during each of the first three Mexico concerts, as the two stagehands were seen struggling with a malfunctioning pyro launcher during “Enter Sandman” when both were suddenly engulfed in flame. As frontman James Hetfield called for the band to stop playing, other crew members doused the men with fire extinguishers and took them off the stage in stretchers, with the band resuming its show a few minutes later.

A spokesperson for the promoter said the stunt was “all part of the show,” and in fact METALLICA has staged this type of “accident” before during its 1997 tour, on which the show ended with the stage seemingly collapsing around the band as one crew member caught fire and another dangled upside down from the fallen lighting rig. The effect was caught on the band’s “Cunning Stunts” DVD.

The show on July 28 marked the debut of a new 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that features “colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA‘s entire 30-year career,” meaning that the “accident” stunt could be back for an encore.

At a press conference before the show, frontman James Hetfield said that the band was focused on “staying alive” while performing alongside the “dangerous elements” of the new production, with bassist Robert Trujillo adding, “Like James said, it’s very dangerous — we’ve got stuff flying every which way.”